The Buried Planet
by Mangochu
Summary: "There was a planet once… it was vast with trees and plains and rivers… It was beautiful.." What happens when an old memory drags Amy and The Doctor to the edge of the universe, revealing long lost secrets and a trouble much bigger than The Doctor?
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

_Lost_

"There was a planet once… it was vast with trees and plains and rivers… It was beautiful: Almost as beautiful as Gallifrey. I always loved to go there, especially once my home was gone. It.. comforted me, I guess? But anyway… this planet was called ATEOTU, a strange name for a planet indeed. I don't know what its supposed to symbolize.. but it's there. I would change it but that's illegal under proclamation number 1043 of the shadow proclamation: 'no changing planet's names'. That's probably a good rule because the Daleks would have changed Gallifrey's name to something strange and offensive, and since.. as much as I hate to admit it… since my people were generally uptight, we probably wouldn't' have done it back. Rubbish, right?! Oh, sorry.. I'm getting off track again.. Anyway, this planet… it disappeared one day. Well, the city on it disappeared first. It just.. left overnight! They searched and searched.. and none of the searchers ever returned, so they gave up. The area around that planet, the entire system it was in; was evacuated for fear that whatever had taken them would take the rest of those planets too. They just left it, Amy. It could still be out there! Anywhere in the universe.. People have tried looking, including me.. but nobody ever finds it.. "

There was silence for a bit after the Doctor's mouth closed once again, his words; the story he had told out in the air. Nothing was left to say. All there was now was silence, the Doctor sitting across from Amy in one of the many rooms of the TARDIS: the library. Amys eyes were filled with thought, sadness creeping into her gaze as well, as she thought of those lost. "How did it just.. go away..?" he murmured, her eyes meeting the Doctor's. "How has nobody found it..?"

"I don't know," the Doctor answered quickly, his hands clasped together, his eyes cast downwards. The planet had felt like a second home again, the second home he'd lost. The last time he had actually settled down. He had always figured; why settle down if it would always leave you? It was like him and his companions.. they always left in the end; didn't they?

"Doctor?"

He snapped back to reality, looking up at the concerned red head. "You okay, Doctor?" she asked, standing and coming to sit next to him on the couch he had taken residence on.

"Yeah.. yeah I'm fine," the Doctor responded; his answer hardly convincing. Deciding not to pester as usual, Amy entwined her hand with his, resting her head on his shoulder as she stared into the depth of his library; where his gaze seemed to be fixed. His hand tightened around hers almost instantaneously, and Amy could have sworn that she saw the ghost of a smile etched onto his face.

The silence returned once more, for longer now. Until, Amy spoke once again. "Doctor?"

"Yes Amy?" his head turned to look at her and she sat up, meeting his gaze.

"Can we look for it?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

The Search Begins.


	2. The Search Begins

**Chapter One**

_The Search Begins_

"Amy!" a voice called, echoing through the many rooms of the facility that contained it.

"Yeah?" a voice yelled back, rather groggily; bouncing back towards the first voice's creator; a tall man with a bowtie and brown slacks.

"C'mon! Up and adam! We don't have all day," the man; The Doctor responded, his voice bright with an excited edge to it.

Amy Pond groaned as the Doctor's demand floated through the TARDIS to meet her ears. A red and white plaid blanket was draped over most of her lithe body, only one foot, her head, and both hands visible. Her ginger hair was messy and all over the place, something she really didn't feel like fixing, but knew that she'd have to. Her eyes showed a hint of annoyance, yet the same excitement that was seemingly in the Doctor's voice permanently tinted her eyes as well. After all, the planet had seemed so amazing; and it was her idea to go look for it: after all.

Yawning, the redhead rolled out off of the comfy, king sized bed and onto the floor, landing with a thump and a grunt emitting from her mouth. "Amy, what are you doing on the floor?" asked a curious and slightly judgemental voice from the doorway; causing Amy to look up.

"When did you get here..?" she asked, her voice sleepy.

"Just now, you were taking too long," he responded, walking into the room and unrolling her from the blankets, ignoring her protests; before grabbing her under the arms and yanking her upwards, holding her up as she looked at him with a faint smile.

"We're in a time machine, Doctor. I don't see why I have to get up, I'm staying right here," she said, falling back onto the bed and taking the man with her with a giggle.

"Oh don't try that, I can tell you're excited," the Doctor answered in his always recognizable know-it-all voice. Amy just rolled her eyes and smiled, standing up and walking to the closet; with the Doctor sitting up on the bed and watching her.

"Well- get out!" she said, turning around, "I'm not changing with you in here," she said, grinning cockily with one eyebrow raised, causing the Doctor to snort.

"Yeah, yeah- you act like I've never seen you naked befo-" her glare cut him off,

"That was a one time thing Doctor, there were weeping angels, and I kind of needed to escape," she huffed, her continuous glare sending the timelord fleeing from the room with his cheeks red and mind buzzing.

Ten minutes later the Doctor looked up as Amy entered the main area- the lobby as he liked to call it; of the TARDIS. A smile graced his lips when she walked in, stunning as usual. Not that he'd ever tell her he thought that. "Ready to go?" he asked her, running around the 'steering wheel' of the machine, switching various knobs on and off and pulling a few strange objects; pausing with his hand on a lever, his eyes sweeping around to land on her. "Amy?"

"Where exactly are we going? I mean.. you don't even know where to start looking!" she exclaimed, her Scottish accent thick in her voice.

"Well.. the planet was close to Gallifrey.. so I'll fly us out there around that area.. we can see if we can spot the solar system it was in, or anything suspicious," he said, smirking as he turned his attention back to the lever. "Now; ready?"

"Ready as I can ever be with you," she responded; causing the Doctor to jerk the lever downwards, the TARDIS shaking and eventually, coming to a smooth stop. They weren't landed, no; they were floating.

Running to the door, the Doctor opened it and peered out, Amy soon joining him at the door, her eyes wide. "Woah..," she breathed, her eyes scanning the vast area. "See anything?" she asked. The Doctor shook his head in response, his keen eyes looking for anything, and stopping when he noticed a small, orange dot far, far off in the distance. He shook it off, though; his eyes returning to the horizon. "Hey, Doctor..?" Amy spoke, looking down at the endless space beneath them. "What happens if one of us falls?"

"You fall the the end of the Universe," the Doctor answered, his eyes not still searching. "This area is a rift, a rift in time and space.. Since gallifrey once stood here.. our.. pollutants you could say.. opened up a hole in this galaxy. If you are not held by something, if you're suspended in air: you fall.. you fall through time and space… you'll end up at the end of the universe-..," he trailed of, his eyes widening slightly. Suddenly, he leapt into action, grabbing Amy's hand and pulling her inside of the TARDIS, slamming the doors shut with a snap of his fingers and running to the controls. "I was so blind Amy, it was always there!" he yelled, "It was a sign! ATEOTU: at the edge of the universe!" he exclaimed, his hands going to his head as he tried to contain all of the information, his hands gliding through his hair. "The meaning of the planet, Amy-!" he grabbed her shoulders, looking directly into her eyes, "It's always been a sign, waiting for somebody to figure it out!" he cried, a grin breaking out on his face as he turned to the controls. "Get a grip, Amy," he said, and the redhead quickly grabbed onto a metal bar nearby. The Doctor looked up, "Amy Pond..," he began, his hand on a flashing blue button. "We're going to fall through time and space."

And he pressed it.


	3. Drop

**Chapter Two**

_Drop_

The Doctor looked up, "Amy Pond..," he began, his hand on a flashing blue button. "We're going to fall through time and space."

The moment his long finger pressed that single, flashing button; the lights flickered and went out, and Amy screamed as she felt herself rising off of the floor, the metal bar she held the only thing keeping her from floating into god knows where. "D-Doctor!" she yelled, "What did you do?!"

"We're falling through time and space, Amy! The only way to do that is to turn everything off- except for the oxygen that is," he yelled back, his voice shaking with the tremors of the TARDIS as it fell. "Right now, we are hurtling through the Universe, through a time rift. We could be in 18th century France one minute and on a planet the next-," he explained, his voice cutting of as the machine shifted abruptly. There was quiet for a few moments, before Amy heard a sharp intake of breath right next to her, causing her to scream. "Shh! Shush!" came a voice, and Amy felt the screams leave her, as she was shushed. "Ow- did not expect that," the voice continued, sounding rather pained.

"Are you hurt Doctor?" asked the woman, her voice laced with concern.

"I'll be fine, just bumped my head- nothing major," the Doctor responded, though his voice still sounded a bit tight and his 'reassurance' slightly forced.

"You sure?" Amy responded, releasing one of her hands and feeling around for him, sighing in relief as she felt his soft hair under her fingers. Slowly, she ran her fingers gently through his hair, pausing when she felt something.. different. Something wet. "Doctor!" she gasped, "You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine!" the man snapped back, casting the ship's voices into silence, the only noise that of the occasional stray rock.

"Doctor.. what happens if you were wrong..?"

"Then we fall through the Universe.. and one of two things can happen then. Either we die, or we float in a large black pit- probably the worlds largest black hole- until we die," he said sourly.

"Aren't you just an excitable man today," Amy muttered, sarcasm dripping off of her words as she glared at the general area of the Doctor.

"Oh shut up-," he responded, his voice softer; yet still annoyed. She could tell he was in pain, that he was lying. He tended to do that a lot- not just lie, no; but hide his feelings as well. Amy knew that wasn't healthy, and in this case, it really wasn't- considering the drying blood that caked her hand.

The TARDIS continued to shift about, creaking and groaning as Amy moved her hand back to the Doctor, this time finding the soft material of his jacket. Moving her touch downwards, she found his hand and entwined her fingers with his own. "Doctor..," he whispered. "I don't want to die.. I don't want you to die..,"

"We won't," The Doctor responded instantly, his hand tightening around her own shaking limb. "I promise, Amy Pond-"

A loud bang, a screeching of metal against metal, a strange feeling, blackness.

Why was everything so cold? Was the first thing that came to Amy Pond's mind as she awoke from her slumber- her quite unexpected slumber at that. As she began to come back to reality and awaken more, her eyelids heavy and several parts of her fragile body aching. "D..Doctor..?" she called softly, her breath billowing in the air and creating a frosty cloud. Slowly, she struggled to sit up, discovering that she was on a small bed in a small, bright, white, cold room- and across the room sat The Doctor on an identical bed; looking straight at her. The tall man had a bandage around his head, his slightly curled bangs poking out over the bandage; and hair peeking out at random intervals in all directions. His hands were clasped and his his forehead rested gently against them. "Doctor?" Amy prodded again, hissing in pain softly as she hit her leg against the bed by accident. This time the man looked up, his eyes slightly puffy and red. "Were you.. crying?" she asked, concern flooding her gaze.

"It hurt.. alright..?" he mumbled in response, his usual bravado gone completely. "It still hurts..," he mumbled, before looking Amy in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Amy.. I always end up getting you into this situations where the outcome could be anything..," he muttered softly, and the Scot smiled, standing despite the pain rocketing through her body and limping over to him, sitting beside him and leaning on his shoulder, smiling a bit as he turned his head to bury his face into her hair.

"Am I interrupting anything?" came a voice from their left, suddenly. It was a female voice, young; around the age of 15.. maybe 16. Turning, both saw the girl standing in the doorway, a knowing smirk plante on her face. Amy felt the Doctor stiffen a few seconds later, standing instantly; causing Amy to catch herself.

"You.. you look like..," he gasped, his hand reaching out to grab hold of the bed post as he wobbled slightly. The girl simply smiled,

"You should get some rest, Doctor; you've lost a lot of blood," she said, simply, before turning to look at his companion. "You too. You both have a lot of exploring to do," she smiled. "I'll be back in six hours," and she was gone.

The two had soon retreated to one of the beds, all the blankets in the room wrapped around their still slightly shivering bodies. Why was it so cold?

"Hey.. Doctor.. who does she look like..?" asked Amy sleepily. The Doctor's eyes drifted over the look at her, registering that the woman was too tired and unstable to recognize the features.

"..River Song," he mumbled softly, "She looks like River Song.."


End file.
